Endless Winter: My Camp Upgrades Infinitely Chapter 1294 - 424: Reaping What One Sows, Hezang’s Orphan, Shocking Upheaval and Hatred (Part 3)

Ji Hong recalled with sharp clarity how, in that desperate moment, he even contemplated dying alongside his sister, believing it the only way for them to rejoin their parents in eternity.

Yet from that point onward, his destiny shifted dramatically.

Lord Xia Hong returned with prey for the very first time; he and his sister savored beast meat at last; his foundational strength surged past five thousand pounds, earning him a spot in the logging team; alongside his sister, he followed the camp's migration from the muddy slopes into the valley; they took up residence in a wooden house within the main structure; eventually, his sister too advanced to the Logging Realm; following the Great Xia Valley's overhaul, he accumulated sufficient contribution points to claim land, relocating with his sister to their brand-new abode...

Having weathered the bleakest of times, under Lord Xia Hong's leadership, the siblings' existence brightened progressively, with beast meat, garments, premium salt, exquisite liquor, Dan medicine... an array of unprecedented supplies sprouting endlessly in the camp like spring bamboo, granting them a lifestyle beyond their wildest dreams.

"Brother, I want to join your hunting team, please let me join, okay?"

"The Camp Supply Department is too boring, brother, I’ve joined the Xia Clothing Workshop in the Craftsmen Department!"

"Brother, I’ve broken through, and it’s a top-level combat body qualification, hahahaha, how about that, am I amazing? Am I amazing?"

"Brother, you’ve also broken through, and it’s a top-grade battle body qualification, that’s great!"

"Guess who I am?"

The dream pressed on relentlessly.

Sister Ji Jiang's talents far outshone her brother's mediocrity; by age fifteen, her base power neared the thirty-thousand-pound cap, and she bickered with him over joining the hunting squad.

Naturally, he turned her down in the end.

A young woman battling Cold Beasts in the wilds was far too perilous; far better for her to safely enlist in the Camp Supply Department and remain within Xia City.

In Great Xia's seventh year, astonishingly, his sister ascended to Cold Resistance Level ahead of him, boasting top-level combat body aptitude. Ji Hong rejoiced wildly then, splurging on a pound of Phoenix Yang Drunk from the Camp Supply Department to toast her triumph.

The dream leaped to Great Xia's eighth year, September; for boldly aiding Xiao Hen in rescuing Jiangxia Town's folk, he earned the Lord's personal praise and a pound of Jiao Long Blood, shattering into Cold Resistance Level with top-grade battle body prowess.

No sooner had he advanced than Vice Commander Yuwen Yong extended an invite, inducting him as a Dragon Martial Army reserve, his fame exploding across the Bashang region.

This dream segment concluded on September 16th of Great Xia's eighth year, amid a Dragon Martial Army materials escort to Hongmen City, as he plotted a South City visit during downtime.

The instant he entered South City, sister Ji Jiang blindfolded him from behind.

Within the dream, Ji Hong felt an ominous stir, panic etching his features; he shrank from facing her, desperate to halt the vision's flow.

Still, the dream ignored his pleas and barreled forward.

Post-Hongmen Battle, he enlisted Lin Kai's aid against Xu An's threat to his sister. Even amid the Zhao Brothers' taunts, thoughts of her bright laughter curved his lips into a grin.

The dream's chronicle advanced to Great Xia's ninth year.

Come February, a Dragon Martial Army slot opened, promoting him from reserve to official Scout Camp team five member. Late February brought his inaugural seven-day military leave.

Five months parted him from sister Ji Jiang. Without pause, Ji Hong gathered his gear, bid the captain adieu, and raced toward Hongmen City.

"Brother, you’ve been supporting me for nearly ten years. Now that I can finally earn some contribution value, I wanted to buy you some cultivation resources."

"You rely on yourself for everything, and I rely on you. Your cultivation speed has always been slowed down by me. Brother Xu An is just two years older than you. In the past, your abilities were actually very close, and the big gap now is because of me. Do you want me to feel guilty forever?"

"If your strength could improve faster, wouldn’t you be able to protect me better?"

......

Over the Yangyuan Pill, Ah Jiang clashed with him. True to form, he yielded once more.

"If your strength could improve faster, wouldn’t you be able to protect me better?"

In the dream, Ji Hong echoed his sister's words. Abruptly, memory struck like lightning; his face contorted in agony, hands seizing his skull, rejecting the dream's advance—yanking his waist blade free, he hacked madly at the visions, frantic to break free.

Yet despite his frenzied resistance, the dream marched inexorably on...

"Brother, it’s really great having you!"

Learning of his sister's shop woes, he resolved to spend his seven-day leave hunting Beining Mountain with her, amassing beast hides for her stock.

He came back March first, and guilt-ridden Ah Jiang fed him first, urging deep rest.

Exhausted from army rigors, Ji Hong slumbered till March first's dawn.

Awake, he found his sister had readied all provisions.

Thus, the pair ventured into Beining Mountain side by side.

"No... no... don’t go into the mountain, don’t go into the mountain..."

In the dream, Ji Hong hovered both immersed and detached. He beheld another self leading his sister into Beining Mountain, comprehension dawning in terror, his visage drained of color as he strained to intervene.

Powerless, he could merely witness their descent into Beining Mountain's shadowy, frozen woodlands.